This invention relates to a method and apparatus for anonymous call redirection in a wireless network. More particularly, the invention is directed to providing an anonymous call redirection service for wireless service subscribers by implementing service logic within the wireless network to intercept incoming calls for which no calling name or number is available and redirect the calls to an intelligent peripheral device for further processing. In one embodiment, anonymous calls are directed to an intelligent peripheral such as a network-based recording device, which records the caller's name and then repeats or plays this name to the called party, before the call is connected, to allow the called party to accept or reject the call.
While the invention is particularly directed to the art of anonymous call redirection, and will be thus described with specific reference thereto, it will be appreciated that the invention may have usefulness in other fields and applications. For example, the invention may be used in other implementations where intercepting a call in a wireless network would be useful prior to connecting the called party to the calling party.
By way of background, anonymous call redirection services are well defined and available in wire line networks. These services allow for redirection of anonymous calls to recording devices. The caller is then prompted at the recording device to identify itself in a manner so that the called party will be informed of the identity of the caller (e.g., recording a name). Typically, once the caller is subsequently identified to the called party by, for example, playing back the recorded data to the called party, the called party is requested to press certain keys to accept, reject, or send the call to voice mail. In this way, the anonymous wire line call is intercepted and no ringing of the called party phone is accomplished until the caller identifies itself. Other types of anonymous call redirection for wire line networks are known. One of these also involves accessing a database to determine whether a calling party should be connected to a called party.
Notably, there is no known wireless equivalent to such anonymous call redirection. No service provider currently provides such a feature. Indeed, implementation of anonymous call redirection in a wireless network would necessarily be different than that for a wire line network. In this regard, a call is passed through many different entities in a wireless network. In a wire line network, a call is always connected through the same line from one party to another. As a result, implementation of anonymous call redirection in a wireless environment has heretofore been difficult and unrealized.
The present invention contemplates a system for anonymous call redirection in a wireless network that resolves the above-referenced difficulties and others.